The Viper's Kiss
by CowgirlImladris
Summary: Kabuto's service to his Sama has been undying. But can a chance encounter with Kakashi change that? Will he discover things about himself and Orichimaru that he can no longer abide? Orichimaru/Kabuto; Kakashi/Kabuto
1. Four Years

**I don't own any of Masashi Kishimoto's creations. If I did, I would be filthy rich. Hope you guys enjoy :) **

**Four Years**

Kabuto's footsteps echoed down the long, darkened hallway, lit only by dimly flickering torches every few feet or so. The light from the flames reflected in the medical-nin's glasses, flickering exuberantly in the darkness.

He stopped in front of a door with a strange, three-circle symbol on it. So today was the day. Four years, now, Kabuto had been serving Orochimaru. He sighed. No time to dwell on the past. Hearing screaming, he pushed open the door.

"My, my," he said, eyes glancing around the blood-covered room.

Half a torn corpse laid on the floor, while the other half protruded grotesquely from underneath the bed.

"I come back and already have a mess to clean," said Kabuto, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind him.

Orochimaru's head, once bent, slowly rose as his snake-like eyes focused on the silver-haired man before him. His arms lay beside him, twitching with pain.

"What have…you brought…?" Orochimaru gasped, his eyes shot with reddened veins, body convulsing.

"Meds, made for you alone," said Kabuto, placing a tray by his employer.

Employer. No. Orochimaru was his Lord, his savior. His Sama. But nothing more than that.

Orochimaru didn't even glance at the tray as his weakened fist flung headlong into the row of bottles. He licked his lips as the glass shattered, eyes rent with pain, blood dripping from his sliced knuckles even through the bandages.

"Take…the damn…things…elsewhere…" he hissed.

Kabuto sighed.

"They are meant to ease the pain."

Orochimaru was heaving. Kabuto fought down the urge to cry out in panic.

Suddenly the heaving stopped. Orochimaru smiled ruefully.

Kabuto felt as though he were watching something in slow motion as Orochimaru pitched backward onto the bed and was instantly still. The panic that had been clawing its way up Kabuto's throat ever since he entered the room now came out in a terror-laced shriek.

"_Orochimaru-sama_!"

He jumped quickly onto the bed and began at once to expulse medical chakra from his hands. Orochimaru's heart had stopped.

_Orochimaru-sama…_ Kabuto pleaded, his face etched in concentration, sweat forming on his brow. His already frantic heart began to beat faster.

_No…_

Ripping open Orochimaru's shirt, he increased the chakra flow ten fold. He suddenly found himself blushing as he stared down at Orochimaru's smooth chest, which his hands were now so urgently pressed against.

Being one of the three Sannin, Orochimaru's chest was muscular and refined, his smooth, jagged features well worthy of a great shinobi. Suddenly distracted, Kabuto felt even more color flood his cheeks as Orochimaru began to stir, his long, silky black hair falling across his face as his eyes opened slowly.

In his endeavor to save his employer's life, Kabuto hadn't realized that he was positioned directly on top of Orochimaru, his legs parted where the other man's body lay.

Now, though…

Orochimaru seemed to notice Kabuto's discomfort, even in the waking hour of recovery. He smiled wickedly. Kabuto swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He could not tear his gaze away from Orochimaru's viciously green eyes, glittering in the soft darkness like sickened emeralds.

Orochimaru's neck twisted slowly upward; he was still smiling that malicious smile of his. Kabuto's heart was hammering painfully inside his chest. Fear? Perhaps. Anxious pleasure? Probably. But instead of sinking his fanged teeth into Kabuto's shoulder or, better yet, displaying his bloody remains in tatters on the floor, Orochimaru leaned in and pressed his lips against Kabuto's.

Kabuto's eyes were wide as Orochimaru's tongue slid into his mouth, wet and smooth and pleasurably poisonous. He closed his eyes and tried to jerk away, but Orochimaru viciously pulled Kabuto toward him and switched their positions, so Orochimaru's long tongue now invaded Kabuto's mouth at a vertical angle.

"Unh…Mnn…"

Kabuto couldn't pull away. Resistance was all but nonexistent. Orochimaru's tongue overpowered him, treading deeply and sadistically inside his mouth, sliding against Kabuto's with a grip and press like iron.

Orochimaru slid his hands under Kabuto's shirt, his aching fingers hot against Kabuto's body. And as tears started to burn Kabuto's eyes from the viciously gratifying force of Orochimaru's tongue, some small part of him acknowledged that, deep down, he desired it.

He _wanted_ it.

He fully enjoyed the taste of Orochimaru's lips.

And it was this thought that brought him out of the not-so-blissful trance, and he shoved Orochimaru's warm body off of him. Everything was now painfully clear. He stumbled out of the bed, his cheeks flushed with shame, fell sharply on his shoulder, ignored the pain, scrambled up, threw open the door and slammed it shut.

His breath escaped him in short, ragged gasps. He slid down to the floor, his hands splayed against the soft dirt. He could not ignore the fast tattoo of his heart as the muscle slammed hard inside his ribcage.

There was a soft rap at the door. Kabuto froze for five long seconds.

Then he bolted.

Out of the forest, away from the underground labyrinth that he had come to know as, if not so specifically, home.

He ran until the sun had sunken behind the trees, out of sight.


	2. The Searcher

**The Searcher**

Kabuto's lips burned.

They burned as he sped through the trees.

They were burning before, exhausted, he lay down at the base of a large birch and slept.

Even when the faint light of dawn began to trickle over the hills, Kabuto's lips still tingled slightly, a tantamount to what was left from that fierce passion the night before.

He wouldn't risk going back today. Whether it was the dread of facing Orochimaru-sama or the fear of his imminent wrath that compelled Kabuto to remain aloof, he did not know. Nor did he much care. He wasn't going back today.

He would go to Tanzaku, a large village just east of his position. When he got there, however, he knew that it was not for him. He didn't want to be with anyone, or around anyone, regardless whether he knew them or not.

He wanted solitude. A mountain. A hill, even. Kabuto took off again, with speed that would have surprised even the swiftest of jounin.

Which it did.

Through the dense undergrowth, two trained eyes, one of them fiendishly scarred, watched the Origakakure spy as he sprinted toward the hills. Near white hair glistening in the shafts of sunlight that filtered in between the branches, the Copy-Eye ninja Kakashi set off in pursuit, his footfalls barely making any sound at all.

After a half an hour, Kabuto had a vague suspicion that someone was following him. Kakashi was well-trained in the art of stealth, but Kabuto was a prodigy. It was a sneaking, tiny suspicion, but a strong one nonetheless, prominent enough to act on.

He abruptly changed direction and began a wild, zigzag pattern through the trees. He moved around in this manner for a minute or so, then suddenly sprinted straight ahead into the hills. Kakashi observed these movements with his Sharingan, but made no attempt to speed up in pursuit.

He knew where Kabuto was going.

Kabuto listened for excess footsteps. He heard none, and breathed a short sigh of relief.

_Must be on my guard_, thought Kabuto.

The cluster of trees had finally ended and rolling hills spread before him, one of them with a large, jagged rock at its summit, protruding from the earth like a gray, chipped tooth. Kabuto leaped over the rock and settled himself against the cool side, eyes gazing out towards the west.

It was a hot day, but the sun had baked the other side of the rock, so Kabuto leaned his head against the cool side, basking in its shade.

He picked at the grass beneath his feet, thinking on what he least wanted to think about. It had been so sudden. There had been no warning, no warning at all. It had just…happened.

That kiss. Kabuto hugged his knees to his chest. Instead of feeling angry, or happy about it, he was depressed. He didn't know what it was about Orochimaru that disconcerted him so. His normally flippant façade had completely crumbled once Orochimaru had awoken.

Orochimaru-sama had toyed with him before, touched him, even, but he had never shared with Kabuto anything so intimate as a kiss. Even so, Kabuto had never really blushed when his Sama touched or teased him.

Why had Kabuto all of a sudden felt so…vulnerable? What was different about _this_ time?

The answer came to him almost immediately:

He had been touching Orochimaru's chest.

_But why should that effect me?_ Kabuto thought, suddenly angry. He had no feelings for his Sama, except perhaps one of servitude.

Except…except that didn't explain why Kabuto's heart had beaten so fast, and why his cheeks had burned red. But most of all, it didn't explain the feeling of insane, narcotic pleasure that had sizzled his every nerve when Orochimaru's lips had pressed against his.

"_Argh_!"

Kabuto flung grass and dirt into the trees below. He was angry at himself more than anyone, angry for allowing his emotions to control him. This was not the way of a shinobi. He stood, watching the sun, a yellow, bloody disk in the sky, slowly sink behind the mountains. It was a beautiful sight.

Tomorrow. He would go back tomorrow. Running? Running _away_?! God forbid he should do anything so stupid again. He cursed himself repeatedly, and then sighed, readjusting his glasses in that scholarly way of his.

He might have perhaps even become a scholar, if not for Orochimaru's malevolent influences. He sat down once more, resting his body against the cool rock; leg outstretched, the other bent close to his body, and promptly fell asleep.

Kakashi watched this entire episode from his perch on a tall oak tree. His mission; to find out the whereabouts, intents, purposes, ect, of Orochimaru, through careful watch on his second-in-command, Kabuto. But he found himself becoming attached to the young man. He had met him before, and admired his incredible skill.

Even Tsunade had admitted to it. Kabuto, meanwhile, had looked up to the copy-ninja since the age of seven. However, Kakashi still disliked him, as the bad blood between the hidden shinobi villages was deep, ancient, and satisfying.

Especially the Sound village, the chosen hidey-hole of none other than Orochimaru himself. Kakashi had not forgotten. Ancient feuds aside, Kakashi nevertheless felt a burning urge to see Kabuto, to stay with him…

He dared venture a bit closer to the sleeping figure. Night had fallen, and the stars twinkled in the sky like diamonds against a velvet-blue setting. Kakashi bent low over the young face, his nose almost touching Kabuto's. It was a risky, foolhardy, downright stupid move.

But Kabuto did not stir, and Kakashi allowed himself a grin of hopeless longing as he stared at Kabuto's face, now free of his glasses.

_Kabuto…if only I could be with you…_

Kakashi jerked away and instantly shook himself. What was he saying? His eyes glanced over his back at Kabuto, and his heart felt a pang and he lightly brushed the hair our of Kabuto's sleeping face.

The young man stirred and Kakashi instantly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kabuto thought that he felt something brush against his brow, but didn't think on it. He shook his head; eyes still closed, he curled up in the spot where Kakashi had stood moments earlier, the grass still warm from his body heat.

Kakashi watched Kabuto from a safe distance, his eyes lingering on him for just a few more moments before he turned away and cursed himself.

What the hell was _wrong_ with him?

Kakashi was not one to run from his problems, but tonight he had no desire to face them. Morning would bring answers.

Or so he hoped.


	3. Reunion

**Reunion******

Kabuto woke just as the sun was rising. He stretched quickly before setting off. He knew that if he delayed for only a second, he might lose his nerve to go back. He pressed ahead, reaching Orochimaru's hideout just as the sun was setting. He was followed by Kakashi, too deep in his own thoughts to acknowledge that they were heading for the lair of the snake.

He stayed a far greater distance behind Kabuto then when he had before. He knew that the younger man had detected him, and he would not risk being found again, especially after last night.

Kabuto dropped down from the trees, looking instinctively over his shoulder. Then he descended into the underground lair, somewhat reassured by the familiar flickering of the torches. But as he approached the door and gripped the knob between his gloved fingers, he felt a tremor of fear shake him.

Orochimaru-sama would not be pleased. At the very least, he would be downright irate. Kabuto inhaled deeply.

Then he pushed the door open.

The room was lit by a single candle by the bedside, flickering feebly.

"Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto, sounding much more confident than he felt.

Said figure did not stir. His silky black head was bent toward his chest, his eyes diverted from the slightly trembling man in front of him. His arms lay limp beside him, in the very position they had been the night before.

Kabuto's throat seemed to have closed up.

"Take off your shirt and come here."

The words were so low, barely a hiss, Kabuto could have imagined them. But he did it anyway. Even now, he knew better to question his employer. His lord. His Sama.

The man…

Kabuto would not allow himself to admit it. Not yet. Not now. He had to disentangle this mess before he could even begin unraveling his emotions.

He dropped his shirt and gloves on the floor, then stood by Orochimaru-sama's bedside. The body had not stirred, the head had not risen to pierce and terrorize Kabuto with that neon green gaze. It seemed ages that Kabuto stood beside his Sama's side, his body trembling slightly with fear.

Suddenly Orochimaru whipped out his arms with the speed of a snake and gripped Kabuto with iron fingers that bruised terribly and bit down into Kabuto's shoulder. Kabuto waited for the long fangs to pierce his flesh, but they did not, so controlled was the grip that Orochimaru held him in.

The fingers, though, still gripped him angrily and gnawed into his arms with a pain that seared his nerves. His breathing was shallow. Orochimaru still had not driven his glistening teeth into Kabuto's shoulder.

He held Kabuto like that for a while.

"Why did you leave?"

The words came out as an angry whisper.

Kabuto's eyes widened. His glasses had fallen off when Orochimaru had grabbed him, and the room was now fuzzy.

"Ah!"

Kabuto felt Orochimaru's fangs close in on his shoulder a bit more. They had not broken the skin yet, but the pain was steadily increasing

"Why?"

The word was laced with a bit of sadistic desperation.

"I…I didn't know…whether…" Kabuto sucked in a deep breath.

He had to get this out.

"…whether you were just toying with me or actually felt some affection for me. I didn't know if I desired you either, Orochimaru-sama, but-"

Yes. He had to admit it now.

"-I-I realize now that I do. I…I love you, Orochimaru-sama."

And on the word "love" the fangs pierced him, but he did not cry out. He welcomed the pain, relished the feeling of hot liquid running down his back, a liquid he knew was blood.

Orochimaru's teeth relinquished from his flesh with a soft squelching noise. Kabuto closed his eyes, waiting for punishment.

Then he felt a hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring into the green flames of Orochimaru's eyes. But the flames were not smoldering. They were soft, almost moist.

"Kabuto…"

He had been wrong, thinking that Orochimaru did not care for him. He did. His body began to shake.

"Orochimaru-sama…"

Orochimaru cut him off, reaching out to lick Kabuto's throat. Kabuto shivered with pleasure.

"Please…"

Orochimaru's tongue came away at the pleading note in Kabuto's voice. Kabuto stared into the green depths.

"Kiss me."

The last words came out as a whisper. He suddenly wanted the feel of Orochimaru, yearned for the warm touch of his Sama's body.

Orochimaru smiled nastily.

"You know, Kabuto, your master does have a heart…"

Suddenly Kabuto's every fiber was electrified as Orochimaru's lips pressed against his, a smoldering pleasure that thrummed in his nerves and pulsed through his entire body. And then he was reaching for Orochimaru, craving the presence of that one body, grabbing blindly in the dark for his Sama's face.

He held on to Orochimaru-sama, even as he felt his willpower slipping from him like smoke, disappearing into the air of unending possibilities. Orochimaru was not fierce this time, but his touch was just as poisonous, his love just as dangerous.

And Kabuto would not have had it any other way. He felt himself shudder as Orochimaru's tongue swept inside his mouth, the power of it almost asphyxiating. He reached up to entangle himself in Orochimaru's dark hair and broad shoulders.

He could not believe the wanting that gripped him as his Sama's fingers laced their morphine-induced pattern onto his chest.

Kabuto tilted his head back and let the pleasure swallow him.

Orochimaru's fingers began their long, twisting journey down Kabuto's chest. Kabuto whimpered.

"Please, Orochimaru-sama…"

He wanted it now.

Orochimaru snickered.

"Impatient are we, Kabuto?"

Orochimaru went even slower now, his touch long and winding with a length he knew tortured Kabuto to the brink of madness. Kabuto could feel his erection begin to press against the seam of his pants.

"S-shit…"

Orochimaru leaned down and kissed his way up Kabuto's throat, his long fingers stroking Kabuto's shaft, squeezing it between kisses.

"Ah…ah!"

Pre-cum oozed onto Orochimaru's fingertips. Kabuto felt a storm building in his lower midriff. Never…never had he felt anything so…

His Sama was not improving things. His long fingers and sizzling touch drove Kabuto insane with pleasure. He felt that he could not contain himself any longer. With a sharp cry of longing and dread he exploded.

Semen dripped from Orochimaru's outstretched fingers. He had pulled Kabuto's pants off, only to find that the latter's erection had already driven itself. He smiled, that crooked, sadistic grin that Kabuto knew only too well, and licked some of the sticky cum from his fingertips, Kabuto's vanilla trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Kabuto's chest was heaving.

"Kabuto…"

Orochimaru said it slowly and softly, like talking to a bright but delinquent child.

"Orochimaru-sama…" murmured Kabuto, letting the letters drip off his tongue like honey."

Orochimaru's grin widened, and he leaned down and enveloped Kabuto with his arms, pressing his mouth against Kabuto's, their warm breath mixing in the dark tunnels of a long, protracted kiss. Kabuto did not let go of Orochimaru for quite some time.

He knew this was only the beginning.


	4. Request

**Request**

Kabuto's eyes shifted sleepily. He was awake, but did not want to move. His thoughts floated around his head in broken pieces, like parts of a raft from a shipwreck. He slowly opened his eyes. The room was dimly lit by a single candle, almost completely burned out, the feeble flame threatening to completely eradicate the stub of wax it now so precariously sat upon.

Kabuto blinked once, twice, then turned his head and felt a jolt of sweet pleasure, and the memories of a night spent in a man's arms flooded back to him.

Orochimaru-sama was right beside him, his midnight dark hair falling across his sleeping face. His long arm was wound around Kabuto's waist, touching the curve of his groin, the other hand resting just beside his pillow.

_He's so peaceful when he's asleep_, thought Kabuto.

It was true. The sinister face was now serene and tranquil, his eyes closed and his breathing soft and slow. Kabuto wondered why Orochimaru-sama had not gone further last night. Instead of full penetration, Orochimaru had contented himself with long grasps and electrifying kisses. This was not at all like him.

Usually, if he had ever been in that disposition previously, he would have raped Kabuto without a second thought, regardless of how much he cared for him. It was his predatorial, dominating, sadistic nature.

_Maybe that means he really cares for me…_

Kabuto rustled the blankets and brushed his lips against Orochimaru's. The latter awoke at the slight touch, immediately sensitive to everything around him. He stretched, and peeked out of one green eye at Kabuto.

He grinned.

"Good morning, Kabuto…"

He propped himself up on his elbows over Kabuto's body, then leaned down and graced Kabuto with a long, vicious kiss. Kabuto shivered.

His Sama relinquished his lips from Kabuto's, to Kabuto's longing dismay. Orochimaru got off of the bed, still naked, his long, sinuous body twisting and rippling with muscles in the darkness. Kabuto found that he enjoyed watching his master's backside.

He giggled softly and his face reddened like a school boy with a crush. Orochimaru did not seem to notice. He slipped his robes on and tied them, turning back to Kabuto with an unamused look on his face. He had such a deadpan stare that Kabuto blinked and hurriedly looked away.

Orochimaru strode over to the bed and sat beside Kabuto. Kabuto involuntarily shifted away. Orochimaru grabbed him and held him close, his breath hot against Kabuto's throat. His bandaged hands playfully tweaked Kabuto's nipples.

Kabuto's skin trembled with pleasure, his still-naked body embraced with desire.

"I want you to do something for me, Kabuto…"

Orochimaru whispered the words into Kabuto's skin, his tongue reaching out slowly to touch Kabuto's neck.

"Will you, Kabuto?"

The question came out as a slow, seductive whisper. Kabuto reached out and held onto his Sama, for he needed something to steady his breathing, which was gradually growing faster.

"…Anything, Orochimaru-sama…"

This seemed to be the answer Orochimaru wanted, because he threw Kabuto back onto the bed and invaded his mouth with his long tongue, intruding deep into Kabuto's throat. As soon as he had started he stopped, and abruptly got off of the bed.

"Go."

And Kabuto did not need any more urging than that.


	5. Discovery

**Discovery**

Kabuto found himself, for the third time over the course of three days, rushing through familiar-looking branches. But this time, it was to please his Sama, and he wanted nothing more than that. He yearned to do anything, _anything_ his master commanded…

Some small part of him acknowledged that he was becoming a slave to his Sama's desires, but all he had to do was think of Orochimaru and all mutinous thoughts were driven away. He sped up. It would be long after dark before he got back from his errand, perhaps even days, and he wanted to finish early, and perhaps impress Orochimaru-sama in the process.

The thought of another night in Orochimaru's bed danced furtively in his mind, and he pressed on.

Kakashi, no doubt feeling guilty after his excursion the night before with Kabuto, sought to redeem himself. His footfalls light as a ghost's, he crept into Orochimaru's underground tunnels, stealing along with the shadows, virtually invisible.

A guard, mumbling to himself under his breath, heard nothing as Kakashi quietly edged up behind him. Quick as lightning, Kakashi slipped a hand over the man's mouth and stabbed him behind the neck with a kunai knife.

The man slumped, and Kakashi covered his body with a weak genjutsu. He would be long gone before they discovered the man's body. But he had expected more resistance. Was something going on…?

He heard something. Muffled cries. He hastened down the corridor. Maybe he could save a life today. He was cautious, though, as he stopped with his hand on the door. His Sharingan would alert him if anyone else was coming. He could not defeat Orochimaru by himself.

But maybe he could-

"Oh, Orochimaru-sama!"

The pleasure-laced cry came from the bedroom. Kakashi stiffened; the voice was Kabuto's.

"Orochimaru-sama…" Kabuto whimpered.

Kakashi heard Orochimaru chuckle. He grit his teeth.

"Impatient are we, Kabuto?"

A minute passed and Kakashi suddenly heard Kabuto cry out, but it was not from pain. Kakashi distinctly heard the squelching of semen, the ragged gasps of Kabuto, and Orochimaru's snickers, and felt angry, disgusted, jealous, and miserable all at the same time.

He turned from the door and left.

Kabuto was feeling quite pleased with himself. The secret scrolls from Konohagakure had been stolen successfully, and Kabuto was making the trip back home in record time. He grinned, a flash of his old cocky and malicious attitude flooding his face.

_Just you wait, Orochimaru-sama…_

Just you wait.

Kakashi's face was mingled with mixed grief and anger. He slammed his fist against a tree, nearly snapping it in half. It swayed dangerously before Kakashi adroitly moved out of the way and it tumbled back into place none too gracefully.

It was just a tree, after all.

As the gloriously dazzling sun descended behind the crests of the blue-tinged mountains, Kakashi had begun to accept that Kabuto would never be his.

Never be his.

Kakashi's heart ached.

He shut his eyes suddenly and forced himself not to think about that, as well as the tears that had begun to seep behind his eyes, the tears that burned horribly but would never be shed.

He was too strong for that. He still had a mission, and he would not go back to Tsunade-sama empty-handed. Duty came first, and he would never let the village or his Hokage down.

He opened his eyes, but this time they were fierce. His scarred eye glittered in the twilight, sparkling a dangerous red more vicious than the sunset. Kabuto had left roughly two days ago. He did not know what he was doing, but, perhaps, he still had the chance to steal some information on Orochimaru…

He zipped towards the lair for a second time, much swifter and less cautious then he had been before, but still wary. He was feeling a recklessness that was not at all like him. His face was grim set as he stopped in front of Orochimaru's door.

Sure enough, he heard the moans that could have only come from a particularly pleasurable night, but the moans were not Kabuto's; they sounded like…Orochimaru's. Kakashi hesitated.

The door was slightly ajar. He chanced a quick look; a pale young man with two crimson, circular marks on his head and shockingly white hair, whiter even than his own, which had more of a silvery sheen, was bent over Orochimaru.

Obviously Orochimaru was playing the part of uke, but the young man playing seme Kakashi did not recognize.

"Unnh…Kimimaru…"

Orochimaru's hoarse cry was answered by a kiss from the man who could have only been Kimimaru. Orochimaru grabbed back fiercely, his sadistic nature not even lost while having sex. Kimimaru did not seem to mind the harsh treatment; to the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it.

After a long pause, broken in short intermissions by ragged breaths and muffled moans, most of them belonging to Kimimaru, the two men unfastened their mouths from one another. For a split second Kimimaru glanced behind him, and Kakashi knew in a flash that he had been seen.

The thing that stopped him were Kimimaru's eyes, a deep scarlet that was the shocking color of blood. The man began to rise, and Kakashi bolted. He heard the muffled moan of Kimimaru as he was forcibly jerked into another one of Orochimaru's vicious kisses.

"But…Orochimaru-sama-"

The man called Kimimaru's voice was very soft, but it was quite deep as well.

"It matters not. I will kill him later," replied Orochimaru.

"Sama…"

Kimimaru leaned down and pressed another kiss to Orochimaru's lips.

That was the last of what Kakashi heard. He ran as fast as was humanly possible, until he came to rest at a familiar-looking hill, with a large rock protruding from its surface. He thought he saw a glint of silver, but put it out of his mind.


	6. Meeting Place

**Meeting Place**

Kabuto let out a long sigh and stretched out his aching legs. It had been a long few days. He looked up at the starless dome above him, endless and dark. He closed his eyes, and heard a rustling behind him. He stood up and whipped out his kunai knives with annoyance.

Couldn't he have at least one moment of peace?

"Show yourself," said Kabuto in a bored voice.

The Copy-Eye ninja Kakashi Hatake emerged from the bushes, and Kabuto involuntarily lowered his kunai knives in surprise. Then they were back up again, and Kabuto was wearing a cocky smirk.

"Hatake Kakashi. Well, well…"

Kakashi did not move.

"I'll have no quarrel with you, Kabuto. I don't want to slaughter you," said Kakashi, in a similarly bored tone.

His hand carelessly threw a kunai in the air and caught it. Kabuto briefly watched its spinning procession. This was quite the contrary to their last meeting; they had been at each other's throats almost immediately.

Kabuto snickered. Kakashi sighed.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kabuto.

The handsome ninja piqued his interest. In an infuriating sort of way. Why open hostilities now? He just might be able to learn something and relay it to his Sama…

The old Kabuto was surfacing itself again, and Kabuto welcomed him back like a lost brother.

He felt a twinge of regret that he could not stay this way, but then he thought of Orochimaru and those thoughts were gone. Orochimaru made him feel unmistakably, innocently vulnerable: so be it.

"My interests are no business of yours, Kabuto," replied Kakashi coolly.

Was he ever a master of hiding his emotions.

Kabuto casually began circling the rock that stood between the two of them. Kakashi followed suit, his kunai knife held tightly in his right hand. Kabuto's moonlit glasses flickered in and out of sight as they moved counter-clockwise around the granite.

Kakashi heard the footsteps abruptly stop, and he had only a split second to react before Kabuto leapt over the rock and slashed down upon him with the kunai. Kakashi swerved out of the way and parried the blow, lifting up his forehead protector to expose the scarred Sharingan eye as he leaped away. He had a feeling he would need it.

Kabuto had discarded his kunai, and Kakashi rapidly grasped that he was now using medical ninjutsu. One touch from those deadly fingers, and Kakashi would be at a serious disadvantage.

Kabuto turned on his heel and leapt at Kakashi. There was a rapid thrust-parry session in which Kakashi managed to evade every single one of Kabuto's blows. Except the last one, which hit his shoulder. He felt pain explode in his upper arm, and he dropped to the ground.

Kabuto immediately flew after him, and was caught completely off-guard when Kakashi pushed off of the ground with both hands and kicked Kabuto full in the face. Then Kabuto vanished in a puff of smoke. Kakashi's eyes widened as he flew through the grey cloud.

_A Kage Bunshin clone?_

His eyes turned downward to a rustling sound below him. As soon as he landed on the ground, two purple-gloved hands reached out from the ground and grabbed his ankles. Or tried to. Kakashi leapt out of the way, and Kabuto exploded out of the earth. Before he could even look to target his prey once more, he was knocked off of his feet.

Kakashi had dropped to the ground and roundhouse-kicked him. While still flying through the air, Kabuto heard Kakashi yell:

"_Kuchiyose No Jutsu_! The Art of Summoning!"

Kabuto heard two loud popping sounds and two dogs, one large and black, the other slightly smaller and a pale shade of grey, leapt into the air and pinned him to the ground. Kabuto landed with a thud.

He suppressed a moan of blunt pain. He struggled mightily against the dogs' hold, but there was no effect; it was as though they were weighed there with ten-ton anchors.

Kakashi strode over to him, looking down into the defiant eyes. He was clutching his right arm, and Kabuto saw a dark red stain where the blood was gushing. Good. He was not losing his edge. He allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction.

Kakashi suddenly bent low over Kabuto's body, much like the way Kabuto had done when he had saved Orochimaru. Looking up into the face, the face that was now so close to his, he saw every detail of Kakashi's features. The coal-black eye and the vivid red Sharingan eye contrasted well on Kakashi's pale skin.

He had his mask off, no frequent feat; Kabuto had heard that he didn't even take it off while he slept. His snowy white hair, glistening with a silver sheen in the moonlight, fell handsomely across his face.

With those eyes and those lips so close to his own, his mind forgot Orochimaru for a while. He jolted himself back to reality with a sneer.

"What's the matter, Kakashi?" he jeered.

Kakashi's silver eyebrows creased with anger, and he brought his fist to strike Kabuto's face. Kabuto winced, waiting for the blow. The scene was frozen for a few long, tense moments. Kakashi slowly lowered his arm, then sighed heavily and turned from Kabuto, stripping off his clothes from the waist up.

He dropped them into a pile, an impressive, muscled figure in the velvety night. Old scars laced across his chest like a human patchwork quilt, and new ones shone a pearly white in the fading darkness. His right shoulder was bleeding rather badly.

Kakashi once again stooped over Kabuto's face, furthering the effects that Kakashi was causing him, especially now that the latter was shirtless. Kabuto felt his breath accelerating.

_Goddamn_ this jackass!

Then he thought of Orochimaru, and resentment rose in him like bile.

"What?" he asked forcefully, nearly spitting into Kakashi's face.

Kakashi sat up, his injured side facing Kabuto, his head turned away from the younger man.

"Fix it," he commanded softly.

Kabuto laughed, sitting up as much as the dogs would permit him.

"And what makes you think I'll heal you instead of kill you?"

Kakashi turned his head, and bore a deep gaze into Kabuto with those beautifully mismatched eyes of his.

"I trust you," he said.

There was a long silence.

Kabuto just stared.

"You…you trust me? Why the hell would you-are you as stupid as you look?"

He was aghast. Kakashi had every single reason to hate him. But to _trust_ him? Never!

"Yes, Kabuto, trust. I don't fully believe that you are as evil as Orochimaru. I have hope," said Kakashi into the dark, turning away from Kabuto.

He did not address the insults, and seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Kabuto.

"Hope?" echoed Kabuto stupidly.

"Yes."

Kakashi stared out into the night, blood running down his arm, Kabuto still staring at him.

There was another long silence.

"Why would you hope for _me_?" asked Kabuto quietly.

Kakashi tore his gaze away from the valley. Without looking into Kabuto's face, he removed one of Kabuto's gloves. Then he took the hand in his own and pressed it to his lips, his eyes resting on Kabuto.

"I trust you."

Kabuto's throat was dry. He did not say anything. He did not pull away. Kakashi gently dropped Kabuto's hand. It rested softly on the grass. After another few moment's hesitation, Kabuto reached out his hand and began expulsing medical chakra.

It was there. In that one moment, Kabuto could have killed the famous Copy-Eye ninja Kakashi Hatake. But he did not. He finished the healing process and looked into Kakashi's face, searching for some explanation.

The other man did not meet his gaze. He stood slowly and put on his clothes. As soon as he was done, the dogs holding Kabuto vanished in a cloud of gray smoke.

Kakashi looked once more into the young man's uncomprehending eyes, then turned and left without a word.


	7. Betrayal

**Betrayal**

Kabuto set off again, feeling perplexed and strangely confused. But all those thoughts were driven away; Orochimaru's hiding place came into sight, and his heart swelled with desire and longing for his Sama, his master.

There was no other.

He jumped down, the scrolls clutched tightly in his hand. His anticipation soared, and he pushed open the door.

And stopped dead.

Orochimaru's emerald eyes turned coldly to greet him with a green stare. He was half-naked, his robe hanging haphazardly on the muscled frame of his body. Another man, inhumanly pale, with bloodred eyes, sat up on the bed. He was completely naked. His face was impassive.

Orochimaru's crooked grin widened, semen dripping from his mouth.

"I expected you back later."

The scrolls slipped from Kabuto's hands and rolled onto the floor.

"Ah, well."

Orochimaru got off of the bed and strode over to Kabuto, shutting the door and kneeing him in the ribs. Kabuto felt blood drip from his mouth as what felt like a hard brick wall connected with his stomach and upper abdomen.

He fell to the floor, his glasses flying from his face, shattering beneath Orochimaru's bare foot. He was sobbing.

"Orochimaru-sama…how, h-how could-?"

He grabbed onto his Sama's robes pleadingly. Orochimaru let out a maniacal bark of laugher. His green eyes were sadistic and wide, glittering and spinning with every twist of his long body.

"How could I what, Kabuto? You believed yourself to be special?"

He leaned down, mock pity on his face, and brought Kabuto's lips to his own. It was a fierce, insanely painful kiss. Tears streamed down Kabuto's face.

"But…"

"You were just a pawn there for my enjoyment. Nothing more than that."

"I thought you…c-cared-"

By now, the pale man had come to stand beside his Sama.

Orochimaru reduced his laughter to a chuckle.

"Kabuto, Kabuto…care for you? For _you_? You are just an object, and of no more importance than that. Kimimaru, however…"

The man called Kimimaru leaned and fastened his mouth against his Sama's.

Kabuto's world had been shattered as easily as glass. His own blood on the floor, watching the man he loved kiss another, grimacing from pain inflicted by that same man. His hand achingly pressed against his chest. He wanted an escape from this suddenly cruel world. He had been horribly, terribly mistaken.

How could he have been so blind!

But he knew how; he had loved Orochimaru-sama too much to acknowledge that Orochimaru did not love him.

Orochimaru and Kimimaru had parted and stared down at him.

"It was interesting playing the part of sympathetic teacher. But you are disposable," said Orochimaru.

"Shall I put him out of his misery?" asked Kimimaru.

Orochimaru smiled, fangs curving over his bottom lip.

"Please do."

Kabuto felt something strike his face. Then the world went black and he knew no more.

He awoke to darkness, complete and dominating. There was no flickering candle, there were no bright stars. He was alone. His arms were clasped in black, iron chains. His legs were free, but he couldn't do much with them.

Suddenly the door opened.

It was Orochimaru.

Hatred and misery and longing flooded his soul. He turned away and said:

"Why aren't I dead yet?"

Orochimaru cocked his head to the side, like a particularly vicious cat deciding how to toy with its prey.

"Soon, Kabuto. But, you see, I want to have my way with you before I kill you."

His green eyes glittered maliciously in the darkness.

And as Kabuto heard the large, wooden door slam shut and felt those snakelike fingers wind around the shaft of his cock, he knew it was he that would be screaming this time.

Kabuto's body was on fire. Every single part of his body burned in a hell of pain, and there was nothing he could to stop it. Orochimaru slid his cock out of Kabuto, relinquishing the shaft with a sucking noise. Blood and semen mingled freely on the cold floor below.

Orochimaru stood and slipped on his robes, then turned to Kabuto with a twisted smile and said;

"I think I shall keep you alive a little longer."

_The sick, twisted bastard!_

The door clicked softly shut, and in that moment Kabuto would have given anything to be dead.

It was three nights of open purgatory. Every night around midnight, Orochimaru would enter the room and rape him. The skin around his cock and ass was raw and bleeding, and bite marks covered his shoulders and arms.

Malnutrition and cold combined to make this hell even more terribly nightmarish, and by the second day he had a horrible, racking cough.

On the third night, after having his way with Kabuto, cock fully erected, spurting cum from its hilt, and blood that was not his own dripping from outstretched fingers, Orochimaru looked down and said;

"I think I shall kill you tomorrow. You have been put through far too much suffering; have you not, my little pet?"

He leaned down and pressed a ferocious kiss to Kabuto's bruised lips, and he felt pain shoot through his body. Then Orochimaru threw him contemptuously to the ground and left the room.

Kabuto closed heavily-lidded eyes, seeing, hearing, and praying no more.

No one was coming.


	8. Flight

**Flight**

Kakashi had not dared go back to Orochimaru's lair.

Four days spent in Tanzaku had not helped drive away unwanted thoughts of the young man he yearned for, nor of their night together.

"_I trust you." _

His own words echoed in his head as he turned a corner and met another rush of people, and he felt that it was time to get out of this place. He strolled casually along towards the exit, receiving many stares, most of them of admiration, others of fear. No one had approached him to share a word, benign or otherwise.

He preferred it that way.

As he passed through the gates, he decided that he would go back to Konohagakure. There was no reason to stay. He had Orochimaru's location, a couple of scrolls, and knew what Orochimaru was…erm…doing at the moment.

He kept to the road, his face, for once, not buried in an _Icha Icha!_ Romance novel. He had too much to think on for that. He found himself involuntarily heading for that hill, the one disfigured by a rocky granite stone.

He leapt upon it and sat down at its tip, gazing around at the hills, the breeze rustling his hair. He pulled down his mask, sighing, and took off his headband, the air cool on his lower face and forehead.

He sat there for a long time, almost till sunset, thinking. He rarely ever had time to do this, and as he got up to leave he was not thinking of Kabuto, but of Kimimaru, the man with the red eyes.

Why had Orochimaru been in bed with him, if he had already been with Kabuto? Had Kabuto lost his master's interest? Had Orochimaru already found a new sex slave?

Kakashi halted. If that was so, that meant that Kabuto…

Kakashi's eyes widened.

...was null and void.

He swiveled his head back to the trees, so fast it made his neck crick. He set off at once, anger and passion rising in him, the relentless tide that kept his movements swift as the wind.

The sun was almost completely sunken, and in another few hours he would be dead. He would welcome death, a sweet escape from the horrors and cruelty and his broken heart. He still felt the fresh pain of his Sama's betrayal throbbing in his chest with every breath he took.

Kabuto sat back and closed his eyes, a tear cutting a clear track through the dried blood on his face, waiting for his destruction.

Kakashi stopped to rest. Orochimaru's hideout was directly below him, and should he have to fight, he wanted to be at least close to full strength. After a few moments of a quick overview with his Sharingan, he jumped to the ground and entered the underground labyrinth.

He wished he had the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. It would have been a bit more useful than his Sharingan in a non-fight situation such as this one. He treaded deeper and farther than he ever had before, alert for any sound, any rustle of movement.

He passed Orochimaru's room without blinking, knowing full well that Orochimaru would not keep his prisoners there, as Kakashi himself was once one of them, confined to a dark chamber. If he could just remember…

Suddenly he heard voices and swiftly ducked behind a corner, kunai at the ready.

"…so what's he going to do with him?" said a voice.

"Kill him, probably," replied another.

"What does he _do_ in there?"

The first man lowered his voice to a whisper.

"All I know is he goes into the room every night around twelve 'o clock. I…I overheard him say that he was going to murder Kabuto-kun tonight," whispered the second man, following the first's example.

Kakashi froze. Tonight? At twelve? That was in _fifteen minutes_!

The guards walked past, conversing in low voices.

_Shit_! He had to get a move on!

He walked faster now, and turned a corner, but immediately swiveled back behind it. A corridor, lit only by torches, had one single door, guarded by two thickset shinobi. This _had _to be where they were keeping Kabuto!

He crouched low, weighing his options. He could probably distract them. But how….?

Kakashi had a momentary flashback, and saw kunai knife fly out of nowhere, turned to stare at it, then was caught completely off-guard as Gai launched into the room, yelling, "_Dynamic Entry_!" as his foot collided with Kakashi's face.

Kakashi grinned briefly, a memento to his days at the Academy. He had lost a couple of teeth that day. He would pull a Gai this time. Taking the kunai knife from his pocket, he wrapped it discreetly with an explosive tag. Then he threw it down the corridor.

It landed with a soft thunk, and a split second later there was an explosion. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere, and as one guard went to check on the damage, the other hurried down the corridor.

He couldn't see because of the smoke, but could make out the faint outline of someone…

Suddenly he was knocked off his feet as he received a vicious uppercut from an unknown adversary. Kakashi then roundhouse-kicked the guard into the wall, following up with a spinning back kick that connected with the guard's skull.

He slumped to the ground, and before guard number two could come running, Kakashi threw open the door and then shut it tight, locking it from the inside. He turned and stared down at Kabuto, and gasped audibly.

His clothes were dirty and torn, his entire body covered with blood. Through the rips and tears he saw the marks on the other man's skin that could have only come from the bite of fangs. Kabuto's glasses were gone.

Kakashi ignored the sharp throbbing of his heart as he took out another kunai knife and began to slice the chains that bound Kabuto.

He had not realized that the latter was awake.

"Just _kill me_, Orochimaru."

Kabuto's voice was hoarse with heartbroken agony.

Kakashi felt his own throat constrict.

"I have not come here to kill you," he managed to say, the first chain breaking, and he moved on to the second.

Kabuto looked confused.

"Who are you?"

Kakashi broke through the last chain.

"That is of no importance."

Something seemed to dawn on Kabuto's face as Kakashi placed his hand against Kabuto's chest, and the two figures vanished in a puff of smoke.


	9. Battle

**Battle**

Kakashi reappeared in the forest just beyond the underground chamber, Kabuto right beside him. He stood and surveyed the area, then turned back to Kabuto.

"We have to get out of here," he said, helping him up.

Kabuto looked into the other man's face, his slightly near-sighted eyes staring into the red Sharingan and the coal-black irises.

"Kakashi…?"

His voice trailed off into stunned silence.

"Yes, Kakashi," said an amused voice.

Kakashi and Kabuto whipped around, their backs to one another in a defensive position. Orochimaru emerged from the bushes, looking quite entertained.

"Well, well well well well well…."

He gave a wicked grin.

"Here saves me the trouble from having to kill both of you separately."

Kakashi's silver eyebrows arched with hatred.

"Orochimaru."

Kabuto's eyes glinted, resting on the man he had once loved. And maybe still did…

Orochimaru turned to him.

"I wanted to enjoy your body while killing you, Kabuto"-he threw a smirk at Kakashi, whose grip tightened hard around his kunai-"but it seems that I will not be able to. I will have to find a more enjoyable way to dispose of your life."

It was then that Kabuto knew he no longer loved this man, but there would still be a gaping hole in his heart where he had been betrayed.

Orochimaru's neck suddenly whipped out and elongated to a sickening length, his eyes burning and widened murderously, a samurai blade sliding from his throat in between his fangs. Kakashi and Kabuto leaped out of the way, and Orochimaru's neck twisted to follow Kabuto.

Despite the fact that he was no longer able to weave seals, or use his arms, Orochimaru's speed was brutally fast, and he was still an incredibly deadly adversary.

Kakashi's mind was racing.

_If he could defeat _Jiraiya_even in his weakened state… What are _my_options? How can I defeat him?! _

His Sharingan barely had time to grasp that Orochimaru was behind him before dodging the latter's furious slashes. The blade bit into his ribs, and Kakashi cried out in pain. Kabuto whipped around.

"Kakashi!"

Orochimaru had run his sword through Kakashi's ribs. The blade poked grotesquely out of Kakashi's back, tearing through his Chunin jacket, its tip dripping with blood.

"Damn you!" he shouted at Orochimaru, running full tilt towards his snakelike opponent.

"Kabuto, don't!" cried Kakashi, his non-Sharingan eye closed, wincing with pain.

The medical-nin ignored his comrade's pleas, and unleashed a row of poison-tipped needles at Orochimaru. Orochimaru ducked under them, and before he could get back up, Kabuto was on him, hammering out medical-based blows so precise they could cut veins.

His wounds were irrelevant. All that mattered to him was sinking one of his chakra-pointed fingers into Orochimaru's skin. Adrenaline combined with rage fueled his endeavors.

Orochimaru tore his blade from Kakashi's waist, nearly ripping him in half, and dodged every one of Kabuto's blows so fast he became a blur, and at the last second rammed the blade upward through Kabuto's throat, spearing his brain like a skewer.

"No!" shouted Kakashi, leaping up.

Then with a puff a gray smoke, Kabuto transformed into a log.

_Replacement Jutsu? _

Suddenly, two gloved hands burst out of the ground and grasped Orochimaru's ankles. Orochimaru was no longer smiling. With a snarl of fury and pain, he jerked his knees upward, pulling Kabuto out of the ground along with him, chunks of dry earth spinning around them in an angry hurricane.

He gave a furious air slash, meant to collide with Kabuto's throat, but Kakashi was already there, the blade slicing through his chest instead, protecting Kabuto against his back. He fell to the ground, landing on his feet but extremely winded. He was losing a lot of fluid. He coughed up red and spit it onto the ground, the taste of his own blood ripe on his tongue.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Kabuto.

"I've cut his tendons so he shouldn't be able to move as fast," said Kabuto.

Kakashi nodded, breathing heavily.

"Why-?"

Before Kabuto could finish his sentence, Kakashi had whipped around and thrust a kunai knife into Orochimaru's abdomen. Orochimaru looked down at the blade now imbedded in his torso with a sick kind of interest.

Then he looked up at Kakashi with a sneer. Kakashi flipped backwards to a safer distance, Kabuto following suit, their gloves dragging along in the dirt as they halted.

"You think that will stop me, Kakashi?"

He laughed, but made no move to draw out the knife. Then it hit Kakashi and he could not believe he had been so slow: he needed to target Orochimaru's arms.

He told Kabuto, and the young man nodded.

"I can't do it; I'm—ugh—losing too much blood. But I can assist you," said Kakashi.

Kabuto said nothing, but his heart was pounding painfully. Why was Kakashi doing this for him? Did he think he owed him something, for mending his arm?

"Very well," said Kabuto, rising.

He would settle this, once and for all. He took off toward Orochimaru, adopting a bob and weave pattern. Orochimaru grinned maliciously. He was back in his element.

Kabuto first tried close-combat, but that proved near impossible. Even with his tendons unusable, Orochimaru was still inhumanly fast. Then he saw an opening. Thrusting with his kunai, he lunged at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru whipped his head to the right and met Kabuto full in the face with his blade, kneeing a _Kage Bunshin_ clone in the stomach to his left. Both of them disappeared with a small whooshing noise.

"What-?" Orochimaru began angrily.

Suddenly, no less than twenty-five poisoned needles whizzed out of nowhere and struck both of his arms. Orochimaru stared down at his wounds for a full minute, uncomprehending.

Then he screamed.

"_AAAAAAAAAAGH_!"

The cursed wounds of Sarutobi exploded with smoldering pain up and down his arms, combined with the rush of deadly poison and the sharp, incarcerating pain of long, jagged needles.

"YOU FUCKING _BASTARD_!" he screamed at Kabuto, and blurred toward him full-tilt, sword extended, eyes inhumanly wide with vengeance.

Kabuto had no time to react, to get up from the ground, to shut his eyes, even.

In an instant he felt blood spatter all over him, warm and hot and strangely pulsing, but it was not his own. Kakashi was hunched over him, the blade rent nearly through the center of his heart.

"Kakashi, _NO_!" Kabuto cried.

Kakashi looked up at him, his mask removed, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Kabuto's lip quivered.

"WHY?! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU-"

"I trust you," said Kakashi quietly, his face tranquil as he stared into Kabuto's sad gray eyes.

"Go," whispered Kakashi, "get out of here."

And he slumped forward. Kabuto caught him, his heart thrumming painfully.

"K-Kakashi…."

He stared at Orochimaru, and screamed passionately;

"_NO_!"

Tears streaked his face, but his eyes were storm-clouds of fury.

"You goddamn _ASSHOLE_!"

He leapt up, convulsing, and pulled out his kunai. Orochimaru slid his blade out of Kakashi, spearing Kabuto's arm as the latter rushed at him, but the wound only fueled Kabuto's fury.

Ignoring the blaring scream of pain from his nerves, his arm sliding the length of the blade, he let out a yell of grief and rage before delving the kunai straight through Orochimaru's heart. Orochimaru did not move. His green eyes were wide with shock.

He fixed his wide gaze on Kabuto, and Kabuto could not tell whether they were pleading or livid.

"_Die_," spat Kabuto.

Orochimaru slumped to the ground, dead. Kabuto was suddenly exhausted, his adrenaline-fueled anger receding in his veins, overcome with waves of sorrow and pain. Suddenly he began stabbing Orochimaru's body, sobs racking his slim frame, plunging the knife in and out of the prostrate figure until he could stand it no more.

He threw the knife to the ground and coughed up blood, crawling over to Kakashi's limp form. He looked immensely peaceful, like he had just lain down to sleep. He was drenched in a copious amount of crimson blood.

Kabuto rested Kakashi's head on his knees, softly running his fingers over Kakashi's face, his tears mixing with the pool of blood below them.

It had begun to rain.


	10. Last Sunset

**Last Sunset**

He awoke to a soft plitter-platter.

_Rain? _he thought.

He felt numb and cold. His eyes were still closed, and he had not moved. Small droplets of rainwater cleansed him, neither cool nor hot. He could not remember where he was, or what he had been doing.

_Who am I? _

He opened his eyes, slowly, and smelled the sweet aroma of water against grass, and felt it beneath his skin. He sat up slowly. There was someone with him, but he could not make out in the darkness who.

The shirtless figure had his back against a large, vertical rock, and appeared to be looking out into the distance, trembling. He suddenly remembered a name to go with that figure.

"Kabuto…?"

His voice was slow and smooth.

Kabuto froze. No, it was just his imagination; wanting him to hear that voice, that voice he knew he would never hear again, those eyes he knew he would never-

And then those eyes were looking at him. Kakashi stood in front of Kabuto, looking at him with beautifully inscrutable eyes, eyes that would never reveal their secrets, unless you dared stray closer to them…

"Kabuto?" said Kakashi again.

Kabuto could not speak. His vocal cords seemed to have rendered themselves unusable. Kakashi reached out and took Kabuto's face in his hands. They were warm against his shivering skin.

"K-Kakashi…"

Kakashi smiled, lighting up his face in the rain-soaked darkness.

"I was right to trust you."

And then there was no space between them, and their lips were together in passionate embrace. Kabuto gently rested his hands on Kakashi's shoulders, warm tears running in rivulets between Kakashi's fingers and the cool raindrops.

Kakashi's touch was warm and soft and comforting, and Kabuto pushed himself closer to his body, wanting the feel the warmth of him, to confirm his existence from the heartbeat that pounded beneath the chest, by the tongue that reached out to entangle his in ferverent contemplation, by the hand that left his face to gently press against his ribs in hopeless longing.

They did not let go of each other. But there were no moans of pain, no breathless pauses. Kabuto wrapped his arms around Kakashi's shoulders, grasping him tighter, as if he would blow away with the wind, leaning into his warm body, gloriously alive with passion.

And Kabuto was filled with desire, not the smoldering, black desire that Orochimaru had painted across his heart, but an electrifying, full desire that completed him but still left him empty.

Kakashi inhaled the warm air of Kabuto's breath, and felt his regret washed away by the rain, for there was only Kabuto, who was blissfully succumbing to Kakashi's gentle and ferverent touches, and Kakashi felt that if there was ever such a thing as paradise, this would be all there was. Just he and Kabuto, their warm bodies pressed together, craving the lips of the other and fulfilling it with a mouth-to-mouth sigh of longing.

Their lips parted regretfully. Kabuto's heart was filled with a yearning so great it was painful to be out of Kakashi's arms for even a moment, for his senses did not want to submit to that black void of loneliness ever again.

They lay in one another's arms until the rain had stopped, and the sun began to warm the hills and cast light on the world.

Kabuto was fast asleep.

They awoke to a low sun. Dusk was falling. Kakashi had awoken before Kabuto. He glanced at the sleeping face, was filled with wanting, and leaned down and kissed the soft lips.

Kabuto's mouth parted smoothly, and he returned the kiss with full vigor. Kakashi pulled back slowly, tasting the other man's mouth on his as his tongue ran over his lower lip, looking back into Kabuto's gray eyes, then went to go put his clothes on. Kabuto joined him shortly.

They sat and stared at the sun for a while, fingers inches from one another's.

"I am going back to Konohagakure," said Kakashi.

He turned and looked at Kabuto with intense eyes.

"Will you come with me?"

Kabuto gazed back for a few moments, then said;

"People aren't going to believe that I have changed," said Kabuto, looking achingly toward the mountains.

Kakashi turned Kabuto's face towards him, his gloved fingers pressed lightly against Kabuto's cheek.

"I trust you.

Their lips met just as the snow-capped mountains eclipsed the sun, marking the end of one journey, and the beginning of another.


End file.
